Foreign medical graduates educational commission for foreign medical graduates

licensing authorities and may require completion of all Steps or Step Components (including Step 3, which is not

required for ECFMG Certification) within a certain number of years from the date the first Step is passed. Information

regarding specific state requirements can be obtained on the 

FSMB website

. You may request an exception to retake

a previously passed exam to comply with the time limit of a medical licensing authority. Visit the 

USMLE website

 for

more information.

Important Notes: You may only request an exception at the time that you apply for the previously passed

exam. Complete requirements and instructions will be provided at the time of exam application. Exceptions

to the reexamination policy are not approved prior to your submitting the exam application.

Applicants who retake a previously passed Step or Step Component to comply with a time limit should

understand the implications of a failing retake performance on their Step 3 eligibility. See Retaking

Previously Passed Steps in the 

USMLE Bulletin of Information

.

If an applicant’s earliest USMLE passing performance that is valid for ECFMG Certification took place

before June 14, 2004, the applicant is required to pass only Step 1 and Step 2 CK within seven years of

each other for ECFMG Certification; if required for ECFMG Certification, Step 2 CS can be passed outside

the seven-year period. See 

Time Limit for Completing Examination Requirements

 in Examinations for

ECFMG Certification. If this applicant passes Step 1 and Step 2 CK within a seven-year period, these

passing performances will remain valid for ECFMG Certification, regardless of when Step 2 CS is taken

and passed. This applicant will not be eligible to retake Step 1 or Step 2 CK for the purpose of

meeting a time limit imposed by a state medical licensing authority until after he or she is certified

by ECFMG.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

Copyright © 2017 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.

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Medical Education Credentials

Medical Education Credential Requirements | 

Transfer Credits

 | 

Credentials for ECFMG Certification

 | 

Final Medical

Diploma and Transcript

 | 

Transcript(s) to Document Transferred Credits

 | 

Name on Medical Diploma and Transcript(s)

 |

English Translations

 | 

Verification of Credentials

Medical Education Credential Requirements

To be eligible for ECFMG Certification, you must have been awarded credit for at least four credit years (academic

years for which credit has been given toward completion of the medical curriculum) by a medical school that is listed in

the World Directory of Medical Schools (World Directory) as meeting ECFMG eligibility requirements. Your graduation

year must be included in the ECFMG note in your medical school’s World Directory listing. See 

Medical School

Requirements

. There are restrictions on credits transferred to the medical school that awards your medical degree that

can be used to meet ECFMG’s medical education credential requirements.

Important Notes: Graduates not eligible for admission to the exams or for ECFMG Certification include,

but are not limited to: Graduates with degrees only in stomatology, ayurvedic or homeopathic medicine, or

those awarded only the diploma of Physician-Epidemiologist-Hygienist, Physician-Biochemist, Physician-

Cyberneticist, Physician-Biophysicist, Licensed Medical Practitioner, or Assistant Medical Practitioner.

Beginning in 2023, to be eligible for ECFMG Certification, ECFMG will require that applicants graduate

from a medical school that has been appropriately accredited. To satisfy this requirement, medical schools

must be accredited by an agency that has been recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education

through its Programme for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. ECFMG is in the process of establishing

policies and procedures for implementing this requirement and will publish updates, as they become

available, on the ECFMG website. International medical students and graduates interested in ECFMG

Certification should monitor the ECFMG website for the latest information.

International medical graduates must document the completion of all requirements for, and receipt of, the final

medical diploma. ECFMG verifies every international medical graduate’s final medical diploma with the appropriate

officials of the medical school that issued the diploma. When ECFMG requests verification of your medical diploma

from your medical school, ECFMG will request the medical school to provide your final medical school transcript.

Verification by ECFMG with the issuing school may also be required for transcripts that are submitted to document

transferred credits. An international medical graduate’s credentials are not considered complete until ECFMG receives

and accepts verification of the final medical diploma, final medical school transcript, and, if required, transfer credit

transcript(s) directly from the issuing school(s).

Please do not send original documents; photocopies of documents are sufficient. All documents submitted to ECFMG

as part of the certification process, including translations, will become part of your permanent ECFMG record and will

not be returned to you. Please do not send any credentials not required by ECFMG (such as licenses, certificates of

full registration, high school diplomas, academic awards, etc.). Submission of unnecessary documents can delay the

processing of your exam application.

Last updated: September 7, 2017

Copyright © 2017 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. All rights reserved.

Page 42

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